My Buy Essay

Posts Tagged ‘romance’

The Crack in the Teacup, by C.M. Albrecht, is a mystery fiction novel with a slight seasoning of romance and suspense to spice things up. The story line is centered in a small Californian town where an 11-year-old boy, Jerry Beakey, goes missing on his way to a music lesson. Author C.M. Albrecht skillfully walks the reader through every aspect of the case and what happens in police departments, support centers and within the family of the missing person.

There are two main characters in The Crack in the Teacup. Detective Steve Music and his co-workers butt-heads with the FBI while working on the case. Lovely, and sympathetic, Shelly Lambert guards an awful secret and harbors a guilt that drives her to volunteer at the Missing and Exploited Children Coalition whenever she could get away from her job as a Notary.

Whenever Detective Music and Shelly meet during the investigation, something deeper between them happens. Neither of them seems to know what to do about it. Steve discovers Shelly’s secret when he looks into her past and creates a huge rift between them that could destroy their romance.

A classic who-dun-it written in the Agatha Christi style with a very unusual motive for child kidnapping. I suspected nearly everyone involved at some point in the book and I liked that the characters represented true society, with people of different races, ideals and backgrounds. The Crack in the Teacup has very little violence, but a lot of mystery and a happy ending.

ISBN#: 1-59466-037-9

Author: C. M. Albrecht

Publisher: Port Town Publishing

Jocelyn has an excellent knowledge and understanding of the writing craft. The author interweaves multiple, strong, leading characters and two completely different time frames masterfully. Crest of Eagles reminds me of some of the great works of Wilbur Smith. This book certainly ranks with some of the best that I have reviewed to date and I would not hesitate to give Crest of Eagles the highest rating available.

Mandhla is taken prisoner by terrorists during an attack of a mission run by white people with generous hearts for children who had no one to turn to. Everyone was mercilessly killed except those who could not be turned into soldiers or whores.

Peter Kennedy, leader of the top military team, set out to save the children, but in fouling the job, Peter earned the revenge of one very mixed-up boy. Kuru joins Peter in the war against the terrorists with the hope of saving his brother &ndash never dreaming that when he did meet Mandhla again, it would be as enemies.

Ancient tribal religion works its way into present day. The lives of Tcana, a high priestess, and Rebecca, a bombshell journalist, are connected in some kind of cosmic manor – though they live centuries apart.

Romance, adventure, suspense, ancient tribal history and modern day action &ndash this book has it all! Crest of Eagles is destined to be one of the most dog-eared fiction books in my collection.

ISBN#: 0976773252

Author: Jocelyn Howe

Publisher: A Better Be Write Publisher

Druxel Manor is a stimulating thriller-mystery-romance novel that keeps the reader guessing. Who do you trust? Everyone seems to know a little something but no one is willing to explain &ndash or rather, what is revealed only creates more confusion.

There are three main characters here. Trevor and Angel are adopted siblings who were raised in a life of the privileged &ndash growing up in a mansion and attending only the best of schools. Angel is a dedicated and driven journalist, while her brother is obsessed with his quest to find their biological parents. Their adopted parents’ insistent warnings to never try to find their real parents and other small clues drove Trevor to find out the truth. In his bones, he knew something was out of place and what he found out put both of their lives at stake.

Suddenly, Angel finds herself thrown into the midst of a mysterious and dangerous adventure &ndash and she has no idea why. Then James arrives, her rescuer and protector &ndash whether she likes it or not – and her undeniable animal attraction to him turns her world upside down. She must decide who to trust and find out the reason for all the things left unexplained.

Tarra Young performed a difficult task in keeping the pace fast and momentum high in this novel. I never knew what was going to happen next &ndash and all my suspicions were wrong in the end. I thought this book was a fun and interesting read and is an excellent choice for readers who enjoy a good mystery.”

Publisher: Publish America, Inc.

ISBN#: 1413766242

Author: Tarra Young

An excellent novel that will wring tears of frustration and pain and then tears of joy from the reader.’Fire in the Ice’ is a perfect title for this book.

The passion, confusion and anger that the main character (Deedra) felt, along with her pain over the loss of her parents and the death of her young husband caused her to cover her heart, lock it away and live only through a deep survival mode. (Thus the “Ice”.) Encountering Josh, she became filled with fear at what could be her first experiences with real love and true passion and she nearly loathed him for disrupting her carefully constructed world. However, Deedra was not along in her fear of feeling &ndash Josh too lived through a horrendous relationship that left him wary of commitment. Her constant rebuttal was hard on Josh, who was used to getting what he wanted, but his persistence and love released her from her own prison and helped Deedra realize that she had never really lived at all &ndash but only existed. None of Deedra’s journey through her Self was possible without the loyal support of her dear friend, Marcy.

This romance novel had some very steamy parts (the “Fire”) that, though not over-used, were certainly so well written that this shy reviewer was blushing furiously while reading them &ndash much to the amusement of my husband!

Katlyn Stewart has done an excellent job pulling the reader into the lives of her characters and feeling their pain and elation. I would not hesitate to pick up another title authored by Katlyn.

Publisher: Publish America, Inc.

ISBN#: 141373278X

Author: Katlyn Stewart

Her Backyard by Doreen Lewis is an adventure, romance novel that depicts a career woman in the middle of self-discovery. It is about making choices that may not be so easy to make and complex relationships between co-workers, siblings and friends. I am certain that many readers within the age group between 30 and 40 will find a connection with Audrey, the main character.

Audrey and her sister Ava have a touching, close &ndash sometimes tense, other times humorous &ndash relationship. Their mother died when they were young and now they were facing losing their beloved father. Audrey returns home for the funeral and meets up with an old flame that helps her come to terms with what is missing in her life. Office politics were wearing thin and career hungry co-workers were beginning to both irritate and consume her.

She begins to question her choices in life and is faced with desirable options that play tug-of-war with her mind. Finally, exhausted and emotionally wrought she is given the opportunity to choose the path of content happiness. Audrey learns to make a decision based upon her needs, rather than trying to live up to the impossible lifestyle society encourages.

Her Backyard definitely has a story line that I think many women can relate with. Career women have to make many sacrifices and there are times when one wonders if this lifestyle is truly full filling all their needs. I think Doreen Lewis has written a fine book portraying this conundrum.

ISBN#: 0976091941

Author: Doreen Lewis

Publisher: Helm Publishing

Instead of Roses and Rings is a wonderful tale of love and healing for two men in one university. This is not a “smut” romance &ndash you will not find erotic scenes in this tender, insiders’ view into the life of men who prefer the company of men.

Chris unknowingly haunts Alexis from the moment they meet. Alexis sees things that lead him to believe that Chris has the gift of sight and this intrigues him – yet Alexis also fears an eerie paranormal connection between Chris’s features and an old lover who died in the past.

Innocent of all of this, Chris clumsily struggles to understand his sexuality and the new lifestyle without the aide of having someone there to explain things to him or share his fears with. He selflessly and without pride, adores Alexis with such intensity that it almost destroys them both &ndash yet it ends up being their very salvation.

Torn between emotional scars from the past and society’s expectations, they attempt to maintain composure while dealing with these new and intense feelings. Leering and biased adversaries seem to lurk around every corner, yet good&ndashhearted friends give them the strength and the council to get beyond misunderstandings and face the strong, confusing emotions that come with the beginnings of love. These two men are from the same world, but have come from opposite ends of the spectrum &ndash love soon proves to be blind to all such boundaries.

I would be remiss as a reviewer if I did not mention the myriad of grammatical errors in this book. Sentences were occasionally missing entire words or used the wrong word (i.e. hear instead of here) and the author’s use of incorrect punctuation brought down the quality of my journey in this tale as a reader.

The dream sequences were some of the most unique that I have read. The author decided to refrain from any punctuation of any kind, which once accustomed to, actually brings a real sense of the speed and flashing events that people experience in dreams.

ISBN#: 0-9549992-0-7

Author: P.A. Breinburg

Publisher: Petrojass Publications

What certainly stood out for me in Barry Southers novel, Queens and Crescents, was his strong and deep feelings for his family that Barry made apparent in the dedication for this book. The love and appreciation he shares here is actually quite touching. The introduction does a good job of setting up the book through a discussion of happiness and success in today’s society.

Readers will find plenty of action and suspense in this murder romance novel. The main character here is Sean Martinez, a 28-year-old divorcee who works a mundane position in a mortgage broker firm. For Sean, life is just one day blending into the next. He just could not get over his wife leaving three years ago with her old lover. If there were a need for an example of a man in dire need of a vacation, Sean would be chosen.

Spurred on by a radio commercial one excruciatingly hot day, Sean’s vacation destination is decided for him. There, he finds true love, fascinating passion and discovers the power of intuition and fate. Cruel crime lords fighting for position, bloodcurdling hired killers and a heavy loss bring Sean back into living life for what it is.

I was impressed with Barry’s writing style because I could really picture the scenes in my head. I felt he delved deeply into the psyche of his characters, making them seem much more real than many authors are able to do. Queens and Crescents may take readers only a day or two to read, but the characters will remain alive in their minds for a number of days.

ISBN#: unknown

Author: Barry Southers

Publisher: Publish America

Quest for the Source of Darkness, Patricia Perry’s first novel, has an action fantasy story line with a strong mystery theme and an interesting romantic twist. This is no short novel, at 422 pages you’ll be kept entertained for quite a while.

The main hero character is a strong and gifted woman who is stricken with a form of memory loss. Little flashes of memory come to her, but she is frustrated with not knowing who she is and what her origins are. All she can remember is her name, Ramira.

Baffled in a tumultuous world of elves, dwarves and desert nomads, whose inability to co-exist peacefully could spell doom for all. They are forced to work together to battle the evil Mahn and his minions, a variety of demons from the low demons called Kreetch to the terrifying Vox, who are capable of possessing a body and torturing its soul for centuries.

The Elf Kings, Alyxandyr and Gard, and their royal peers – the Dwarf King, Seven, and the rulers of the Herkahs, Zada and Allad – converge together at the gates of grand city of Bystyn. Together their people find solace in numbers while they prepare to battle the sourcerous evil. Ramira discovers her power and learns that she is not meant to be alone. There is also a powerful seer and the hidden elf magic to aid her &ndash but they all must grow in strength if there is to be any hope at all.

Patricia does not explain things in this novel. Instead, the book expertly unfolds little tantalizing bits to the reader at just the right pace. Quest for the Source of Darkness is a larger-sized book that will take the reader on fantasy adventure for many days.

ISBN#: 141377427X

Author: Patricia Perry

Publisher: Publish America

Silent Lies is an action romance saga, that takes the reader through decades of a tumultuous time between the end of World War I and the beginnings of World War II. Excellent and intelligent use of actual historical events makes this piece both educational and entertaining.

Leo, a young Hungarian boy who sees too many horrors and deceit, barely survives while family and friends are slaughtered. He finds himself alone, again and again. Subsisting on his uncanny ability to mimic behavior and languages, a gift that keeps him alive &ndash and in serious trouble, he travels from Hungary to Paris. Leo is innocently trapped by very ruthless and influential people and he is forced to run for the sanctuary of Shanghai. There, both his greatest hopes and greatest fears come true.

This is an endearing story of a love that many can only experience in dreams. It is about self-sacrifice &ndash of enduring when all hope is gone and strength is fading. Readers witness the consequences of the political and personal choices that Leo is forced to make. Personally, I had to brush away a little water from my eyes a few times in the story.

Without hesitation, I give Silent Lies high ratings because the author has provided an exceptional piece of work. I look forward to the second book to find out what else will happen in Maggy and Leo’s adventurous lives.

ISBN#: 1563527502

Author: M.L. Malcolm

Publisher: Long Street Press

Brenda Hill’s passion for the world of writing and her experiences as an editor, proofreader and educator have definitely worked exceptionally well together to develop her book – Ten Times Guilty. This suspense thriller is truly an outstanding novel. I do not mean to sound clich